Stop & Shop Closing Numerous Stores On Mainland As Supermarket Chain Struggles

Stop & Shop, the regional chain that serves as Nantucket’s only supermarket, is set to close 32 stores by the end of the year—and some industry insiders worry this is only the beginning of the chain’s struggles.

After the closures, Stop & Shop will operate 20 fewer stores than it did in 2018, prompting United Food & Commercial Workers Union chapter president John Niccollai to tell The Boston Globe he believes the store is following dozens of other formerly successful grocery chains into a “death spiral.” This would be particularly worrying for Nantucket, where customers have few other options for many products.

Eight of the stores that will be closing are in Massachusetts. Ahold Delhaize, the parent company behind Stop & Shop, has offered critical reviews of the company in earnings calls and recently sold the New York-based grocery delivery service FreshDirect, which was initially purchased in part to juice online sales for Stop & Shop. The parent company’s data also shows that Stop & Shop is rapidly losing market share.

Stop & Shop claims the closures are part of normal business and are focused on under-performing stores. If so, Nantucket should be safe. While Ahold Delhaize does not break out profit and loss by store, making it impossible to say for sure how successful Stop & Shop’s Nantucket locations are, the lack of competition, relatively higher prices, and broad customer base—particularly in the summer—suggest they are likely some of the chain’s more profitable stores.

However, Nantucket has had a series of issues at local stores recently, including problems with refrigeration and the registers. While these problems are unconnected and not necessarily a result of the store’s larger problems, they could be indicative of underlying issues.